COKE PROPERTIES

The bulk specific gravity of coke is typically around 0.77. It is highly porous.

The most important properties of coke are ash and sulfur content, which are linearly
dependent on the coal used for production. Coke with less ash and sulfur content is
highly priced on the market. Other important characteristics are the M10, M25, and
M40 test crush indexes, which convey the strength of coke during transportation into
the blast furnaces; depending on blast furnaces size, finely crushed coke pieces must
not be allowed into the blast furnaces because they would impede gas dynamics. A
related characteristic is the Coke strength after reaction (CSR) index; it represents
coke's ability to withstand the violent conditions inside the blast furnace before
turning into fine particles.

The water content in coke is practically zero at the end of the coking process, but coke
is often water quenched to reduce its temperature so that it can be transported inside
the blast furnaces. The porous structure of coke absorbs some water, usually to 3-6 %
of its mass. In modern coke plants an advanced method of coke cooling is by air
quenching.

Bituminous coal must meet a set of criteria for use as coking coal, determined by
particular coal assay techniques. See Section "Production".

The volatility of coke reaches minimum levels at the end of the coking process.

Today coke is produced daily in eastern India in crude ovens without any recovery of
the by-products.

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Coal and Coke
Articles > Metallurgical Articles

Coal and Coke

During smelting of iron ore in a blast furnace coke serves as a source of carbon which
works as a reducing agent. Simultaneously it functions as the heat source for heating
and melting of the charged materials in the blast furnace. Coke is made by heating
coking coal in absence of air in a coke oven.

Coking coals are hard coking coals, medium coking coals and weak coking coals.
Coking coals are bituminous coals with low ash and sulphur contents and having good
coking properties. MMR (mean maximum reflectance) and CSN (crucible swelling
number) values as well as Gieseler fluidity of coals decide the coking quality of coals.
Composition wiseimportant components of coals are ash and volatile matter. Different
varieties of coals are suitably blended and charged in the coke ovens.
The blended coking coal is crushed to minus 3 mm and is charged into the coke oven
chamber for carbonization either by gravity from top of the oven or as a stamped cake
from the side of the oven.

In by product coke ovens the coal is indirectly heated at 1,200-1,300 degree

centigrade for 16 -18 hours to form coke that contains about 88 % fixed carbon. The
coking process in these ovens also produces such by-products as coke oven gas,
ammonia which is converted to ammonium sulphate, coal tar which can be distilled
into useful secondary products like pitch, anthracene oil and naphthalene etc. and
benzol for producing chemical products such as benzene, toluene and xylene etc.

Coking coals can also be carbonized in heat recovery/energy recovery coke ovens. In
these ovens the volatiles evolved during coal carbonization are not recovered as by
products but are combusted completely in the presence of controlled quantity of air.
The heat of the volatiles of evolving gases is utilized for coking the coal mass and
thus no external heating is required. The heat consequent to combustion is only
partially utilized in the process and the balance heat in the waste gases is gainfully
utilized to produce steam and power.

The hot coke pushed from the coke ovens is quenched with either water in wet
quenching or nitrogen gas in the case of dry quenching. In case of dry quenching the
heat picked by nitrogen gas during quenching is utilized for production of steam and
power.

The coke used in the blast furnace should have a high carbon content, low ash and
sulphur contents, and should have an appropriate porosity as well as good strength to
ensure that it gives good reactivity and does not pulverize to choke the gas flow in the
blast furnace even at high temperatures. CRI (coke reactivity index), CSR (coke
strength after reaction) and micum index are important properties of coke which
determines the coke quality.

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